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| Wednesday, 6 August 2003 |
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Holcim to invest Rs. 12 million on Cement application lab From Shirajiv Sirimane in Puttalam Holcim Lanka Limited has invested Rs. 12 million to open a Cement Application Laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art testing facilities at their Puttalam complex on Monday. With this investment the company has so far provided US $ 100,000 in nine months for their infrastructure development within the Puttalam complex. Group Marketing Manager of Holcim Lanka, Rathika de Silva, said that the new laboratory would help Holcim to continually monitor and improve the performance of all Holcim cements under local application conditions. He said that a Sri Lankan technical team which was specially trained at Holcim's laboratory in Vietnam and is now employed at this laboratory. Chief Chemist K. Abeygoonaratne said that they have been investing in new machinery since last year and this has resulted in an increase of capacity. "We were producing around 1,320 tons per day and today our capacity has increased to 1,700 tons." He said that the annual demand for cement in Sri Lanka is around 2.5 million tons and with the peace process the demand has increased by around 6.5%. Sri Lanka manufactures around 50% of this demand while the balance is exported in various forms such as fully packed, form of dust or as ingredients to be ground in Sri Lanka. The Chief Chemist said that they are now in the process of brining their machinery to British environmental standard and they are very close to achieving this target. According to the Market Development Manager at Holcim Lanka, Malith Mendis this laboratory is the most comprehensively equipped laboratory in Sri Lanka for cement, concrete and aggregate testing and soil investigations. "The opening of this laboratory will help the company to provide a very high level of technical support to all our customers under our Holcim 'Head Baas' customer service program." "Holcim will use the sophisticated testing facilities provided in the Laboratory for research and development in the increased usage of local raw materials. The laboratory facilities will help the development of new application areas such as micro-concrete roofing tiles, concrete roads and the replacement of ceramics by concrete in bathroom fittings and tableware at a greatly reduced cost," he said. "Users of Holcim cements will be able to use the laboratory facilities to solve specific problems related to concrete and mortar in their more demanding applications. They will benefit from a superior product quality assurance program, in which the end products made with Holcim cements will be tested at regular intervals," he said. The Company will also accept samples from their factory in Galle and at their head office in Colombo. Holcim, one of the world's leading cement manufacturers and has been in Sri Lanka since 1996. Holcim Lanka is the only local manufacturer of integrated cement to provide a range of cements (Sanstha Super, Masonry and Sevana) to suit different application needs under local conditions. The Sanstha Super is the only Sri Lankan Cement to be awarded the British KITE quality standard certificate for quality. Holcim (Lanka) Ltd is a part of the global Holcim Group and is the predominant and preferred supplier of cement in Sri Lanka. Holcim (Lanka) Ltd is the leader in cement industry of Sri Lanka and plays an important role in the economic development of the country. From its origins in Switzerland, the Group has grown into a global player with a strong market presence in 70 countries on all continents. The Group employs around to 50,000 people. |
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